For the first time ever, the Chicago Bears fired their head coach during the season. Matt Eberflus will go down as one of the worst coaches in franchise history, whose lone highlight in three seasons was a stylish makeover. Beard and all. Yeah, he was that bad.
The Bears' recent history of head coaching hires has been... horrendous. Eberflus was preceded by Matt Nagy, who was preceded by John Fox, who was preceded by Marc Trestman. The last time the Bears had a reasonably good head coach was Lovie Smith, who last donned Chicago's sideline in 2012.
Needless to say, GM Ryan Poles — if he's actually leading the head coaching search — must get this next hire right. He can't 'Flus it. And while there already appears to be a power struggle brewing inside Halas Hall between Poles and team president Kevin Warren, the most important voice in the head coaching search may be the most important dude in the locker room: Caleb Williams.
Yes, I get it. Williams is only 23 years old and only 12 games into his rookie season. And yeah, maybe it could be viewed as a bad look for the franchise if they factor Williams' opinion heavily into the coaching search. But let's be real, ok? The only thing that matters right now is that Williams becomes the franchise quarterback that his scouting report predicted. He's well on his way to being that guy, and with the right head coach in place, the Chicago Bears could reach that special tier of teams reserved for the best coach-quarterback marriages.
So, yeah, Williams' opinion matters. A lot.
That's why Thomas Brown has such an inside track. It's rare that a qualified head coaching candidate, a guy that many teams will have on their head coaching shortlists, is already on staff. Poles and Warren (and Williams!) will have five games to work with and observe Brown in what could be a dress rehearsal for many years to come. If he flourishes in his role, if the Bears win, say, three (or more) of their final five games and Williams goes on a chase for Erik Kramer's single-season passing records, it would be an upset if Brown isn't the next permanent coach in Chicago.
But if Brown Struggles? If there's a disconnect with Williams? The decision to hire someone else will be easy, mainly because... yep! He didn't click with the quarterback.
The list of names the Chicago Bears could choose from for their next head coach is long and impressive. The most popular candidate is Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, deservedly so. He's turned Jared Goff into an MVP candidate and has the Lions' offense humming. Then there's future Hall of Famer Bill Belichick, who appeals to the traditional football fan. Even if his shelf-life in Chicago was short, he'd reset the organization's culture and presumably put the Bears back on a winning track. Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury's history with Caleb Williams warrants consideration, as does former Titans coach Mike Vrabel's resume of coaching a tough winning team in Tennessee.
It almost feels like the Bears can't get it wrong, even if they try. There are a lot of really qualified and intriguing names. This is why Caleb Williams has to have a voice, and a strong one, in who wins Chicago's coaching derby. If all other qualifying factors are equal, if there's no extreme quality separating one candidate from the others, Williams should be the tie-breaker. It's a lot of trust (and power) to place in a 23-year-old, but this is Caleb Williams. He isn't the ordinary 23-year-old quarterback. Especially not in Chicago.
The best way to ensure the Bears make the right coaching hire is to ensure that that coach will work well (and get the most out of) Caleb Williams. So, yeah, Caleb's voice needs to be heard, and it needs to matter.